Andrew Belonsky | The Guardianhttp://www.theguardian.com/profile/andrew-belonsky
Latest news and features from theguardian.com, the world's leading liberal voiceen-gbGuardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2015Tue, 03 Mar 2015 19:00:33 GMT2015-03-03T19:00:33Zen-gbGuardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2015The Guardianhttp://assets.guim.co.uk/images/guardian-logo-rss.c45beb1bafa34b347ac333af2e6fe23f.pnghttp://www.theguardian.com
NBC's Peacock Productions in quiet fight with rising writer's unionhttp://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/mar/12/nbc-peacock-productions-fight-unions
<p>Top stars stay silent as Writer’s Guild of America-East accuses NBC’s Peacock managers of union-bashing</p><p>NBC Universal has two seemingly unrelated problems on its hands. First, there’s MSNBC’s falling fortunes: the cable network has launched a new schedule with Ronan Farrow at the helm, an attempt to get past a series of mis-steps that resulted in the departures of long-term anchor Martin Bashir and short-lived host Alec Baldwin.<br /></p><p>Then there’s a more intricate and increasingly public issue: an attempt by the writer’s union to gain recognition at Peacock Productions, the non-fiction production arm of NBC News. </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/mar/12/nbc-peacock-productions-fight-unions">Continue reading...</a>NBC UniversalMediaUS newsWorld newsMSNBCMedia unionsTelevision industryWed, 12 Mar 2014 13:02:59 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/mar/12/nbc-peacock-productions-fight-unionsPhotograph: NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty ImagesMSNBC star Rachel Maddow has stayed silent over the feud. Photograph: NBCU Photo Bank via Getty ImagesPhotograph: NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty ImagesMSNBC star Rachel Maddow has stayed silent over the feud. Photograph: NBCU Photo Bank via Getty ImagesAndrew Belonsky in New York2014-03-12T13:02:59ZMan or machine? The age of the robot blurs sci-fi and cutting-edge sciencehttp://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/apr/24/man-machine-science-fiction-robots
From Marvel's Ultron to Obama's brain mapping project, science and fiction are breaking the barriers between man and machine<p>No sci-fi plot is as reliable as that of the rebelling robot. It's a story as old as digital time: the once promising but ultimately impetuous computer/child, realizing its mortal creators are at best obsolete and at worst a plight, tries to eradicate humanity/father. </p><p>The first play to feature automatons, Czech playwright Karel Capek's 1920 piece Rossum's Universal Robots (R.U.R.), provided the template for the rotten robot, one used in movies, in books, on television and even music, as on The Flaming Lips 2002 album Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots. </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/apr/24/man-machine-science-fiction-robots">Continue reading...</a>NeuroscienceScienceComics and graphic novelsScience fictionScience fiction and fantasyUS militaryObama administrationUS newsGoogle GlassResearchWorld newsRobotsWearable technologyWed, 24 Apr 2013 17:20:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/apr/24/man-machine-science-fiction-robotsBlue Brain Project/EPFLA 3D model of a neuron reconstructed from lab data by researchers with the EU Human Brain Project. Photograph: Blue Brain Project/EPFLReutersGoogle Glass: just one of many examples of how "you", the human, can merge with "them", the machines. Photograph: ReutersMarvelMarvel's Age of Ultron: 'If you take out the homicidal robot aspect of it, it's the son who can't live up to his father's expectations.' Photograph: MarvelAndrew Belonsky2013-04-24T17:20:00ZGay web dramas flourish as TV networks cling to the status quohttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2013/mar/05/gay-web-dramas-television-networks
The success of a small batch of shows is proving yet again that mainstream networks no longer hold all the power over viewers<p>Netflix's high-cost, highly watched House of Cards blazed a new trail for mass-market, internet-based television, but Kevin Spacey's political blockbuster could have come from any of the traditional US networks. Not so far away on the web, a clutch of series aimed at the gay community – filmed for a sliver of the $100m House of Cards budget yet still attracting a respectable audience – are showing up the reluctance of mainstream broadcasters in the US to stray far from the middle of the road.</p><p><a href="http://wherethebearsare.tv/">Where the Bears Are</a> focuses on a group of husky, hairy sleuths living in Palm Springs; <a href="http://husbandstheseries.com/">Husbands</a> revolves around a newly out sports jock and a fey tabloid star who marry on a whim; <a href="http://huntingseason.tv/">Hunting Season</a> is a sexually frank show about a 20-something gay man exploring the sexscape of New York; and <a href="http://theouts.squarespace.com/">The Outs</a> is about two ex-boyfriends coming to terms with post-breakup life in Brooklyn.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2013/mar/05/gay-web-dramas-television-networks">Continue reading...</a>US televisionTelevisionOnline TVCultureLGBT rightsUS newsInternetFri, 08 Mar 2013 19:41:35 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2013/mar/05/gay-web-dramas-television-networksPhotograph: /The OutsA screenshot from an upcoming episode of the gay web TV series The Outs. Photograph: The OutsPhotograph: /The OutsA screenshot from an upcoming episode of the gay web TV series The Outs. Photograph: The OutsAndrew Belonsky in New York2013-03-08T19:41:35Z